The Buffalo Bills are set to take on the New England Patriots tomorrow afternoon in NFL Week 10 action, and they're looking to - at bare minimum - improve upon a 52-28 shellacking at the hands of Tom Brady and company in Week 4. Buffalo led that game 21-7 early in the third quarter; things, needless to say, fell apart quickly after that.
Rather than re-write our full-length game preview, we're simply going to point you in the direction of the preview we wrote leading into Week 4, as there isn't an awful lot from that piece that's changed over the past quarter-season. Here are some of the things we touched on in that article:
Divisional Play: Buffalo fell to 2-12 in AFC East games under head coach Chan Gailey when they fell to New England in late September. Regardless of whether or not the Bills still fancy themselves playoff contenders sitting at 3-5 - and really, they should - they're not going to have a prayer of making the post-season if they can't win division games.
Offense and Defense Breakdowns: We discussed the Bills' offense versus the Patriots' defense and vice versa. It should be noted that neither team played much defense in Week 4; sure, New England forced six turnovers, but they also gave up 438 total yards of offense, easily Buffalo's highest total of the season. The Bills forced two turnovers themselves, but they were otherwise gouged by a Pats offense that totaled 580 yards on the day.
Personnel Matchups: All four individual (or unit-specific) matchups we highlighted will still be very relevant tomorrow. That's especially true of Eric Wood versus Vince Wilfork (Buffalo must run the ball much more effectively than they did in Week 4), Justin Rogers versus Wes Welker (Welker clearly got the upper hand in this matchup), and the Bills' pass rush versus a Patriots offensive line that has improved dramatically since the previous matchup.
Lastly, you'll want to take a look at the film review we did following the blowout loss, where we examined precisely how easily the Patriots controlled the line of scrimmage in racking up 247 rushing yards. Clearly, Buffalo cannot afford a repeat performance in that particular area tomorrow, either.